Is gold a buy or a sell? How about the dollar?

Gold: buy or sell? was the question of the week this past week and I found Times readers seriously divided. (Read some of their opinions here.) Friday gold was trading at $915 an ounce and silver at around $18, both off from their all-time highs. Gold and silver have been great investments for those prescient enough to buy at the right time, but mediocre to lousy for those whose timing was off. I wouldn't want to be the person who paid $800 an ounce for gold back in the 1980s. This site offers historical charts that provide some perspective. My view is that gold is better considered an economic safety net than an investment. I don't think you should have more than 10% of your investment assets in precious metals.

Gold, of course, is a hedge against inflation and a store of value when the dollar is declining. EverBank in Jacksonville has managed to capitalize on both trends, as I wrote in Sunday's column. The bank's specialty is currency-linked bank accounts that allow you to profit or lose money on big movements in the dollar. (Transaction costs mean small movements aren't profitable.) The bank also sells gold. If you're the trader type, you'd be better served by a currency-linked ETF, such as these created by CurrencyShares.